This one kinda got away from me and went a little dark. As it progressed, I found myself enjoying protective Peter. Though Tyrion doesn't get to be in much of this, I still liked the interaction between him and Peter. I hope you enjoy it too.

2. Prank

Later, Peter would justify the entire mess by pointing out that Urbic started it. The hulking four-armed alien was well-liked by those on the crew who valued strength and brawn over cleverness. The rest of the ship found him to be a bully. It only took him eleven days to target Tyrion.

Peter had gone on a scavenging trip to help Yondu strip a freighter. It wasn't dangerous work; the Eclector had already disabled the ship and only a frantic last-minute jump had prevented the Ravagers from taking her immediately. Like a wounded animal, they'd followed the leaking fuel across space until finding her dead and disabled. Then the boarding crews had entered, killed the remaining crew, and everyone who could do the labor went over to help off-load the ship.

Peter had a bad feeling as he floated through the corridors of the freighter chasing down crates of goods. It kept him on edge and testy as he worked and it earned him a couple of dirty looks from the other crew members. It got to the point where Yondu cornered him in-between loads of materials. "What's eatin' you, boy?"

Yondu has a fetish about food. Peter couldn't think of another reason for the alien's fascination with eating in all meanings of the worlds. "I don't know. My gut's all tight." Peter waved his hand around the general area of his stomach. "Somethin's bothering me."

The pirate's eyes narrowed. "About the run?"

Peter grimaced and shook his head. "No. Maybe. I dunno."

"Well, if you get some specifics, you tell me." Yondu pushed him toward the airlock. "'Til then, you got work to do."

It wasn't until Peter stepped back on the Eclector and was met by Fendru that his unease manifested itself into dread. The matronly medic had a strange look on her obsidion face, like she was dreading something, and the look deepened when she saw him.

"He's going to be okay." Dru's white eyes were wide as she stepped forward and put her hands on his forearms. She was a head shorter than him and had to look up to meet his eyes. "Peter, I swear - he will recover."

"Wha-" A second later, he realized knew that she had to be talking about Ty. He didn't care enough about anyone else here, except maybe Yondu, to have the reaction that the medic was fearing. The dread began a free-fall straight into terror. "What. Happened?" Maybe Dru should have been worried; his voice scared him a little, too. All of that was outside of the blazing fire that burned in his gut.

Dru opened her mouth but Scenica, an M-ship pilot, spoke. The blue-striped alien blurted, "Urbic."

Peter's vision went red. He'd had run-ins with the four-armed pirate before and only Yondu's protection had kept him safe. Years ago in a moment of testosterone-fueled invincibility, Peter had pressed his luck and the leader of the Ravagers had let Urbic hit him once. It'd been a week before he could see out of both eyes again.

"I owed him once but I let it go because Yondu okayed it." Peter glared at the watching Ravagers, not caring that word could get back to Urbic. "Now, I owe him two."

Scenica smirked and darted forward, grabbing his arm. Normally, Peter had to fight to not get excited by the brush of the lithe body. Despite setting off his hormones, zhe was asexual. Today, he felt no desire other than the one for revenge. Zhe whispered in his ear, xir breath hot on his skin, "Let me help you. I owe him one, too."

Yondu's big hand clamped around the back of his neck. Peter mentally kicked himself for forgetting that the head of the Ravagers was here, too. He knew that the red-skinned alien was going to forbid him from pursuing his vengeance. Instead, the leader said, "Boy, you leave him alive, you hear?"

Peter met Yondu's gaze, surprised. "Yes, sir!" The captain gave him a ghost of a smile, a slight twitch of his lips, and Peter realized suddenly that Yondu didn't like Urbic either. "Thank you!" Then Scenica pulled him away to plan.

Though Peter and his rage didn't like it, his intelligence had to admit that Scenica was right about one thing: a beat-down of the powerful Ravager would start a war of reprisals. Yondu wouldn't tolerate that for long; worse, Peter was way squisher than Urbic or his pals.

Scenica wasn't pleased to be planning in his room but Peter wouldn't leave Tyrion. The smaller Quill lay in his bunk, resting. Peter kept staring at the bruises that covered him, listening to him breathe. Fendru had given him something to sleep, which was probably for the best. It left Peter pausing frequently, just to make sure he could still hear him breathing.

"Now that we have that settled, how shall we humiliate him?" Scenica lay across Peter's bunk, zir long legs hanging carelessly over the edge.

"I just want to kill him." Peter looked back at Ty again and his stomach twisted harder. When Scenica looked away for a moment, he reached out and brushed some of Tyrion's hair away from a cut. Why? He didn't do anything to Urbic!

Peter Quill hated bullies.

"That's not an option." Scenica smiled. "Not until Yondu decides to cut him loose. Literally."

Peter was quiet for a moment. "I do have one thing I haven't mentioned." He went to his footlocker and pulled out the sealed bottle he'd gotten last week. "I wanted to share this with Ty."

Scenica sat up and leaned forward, a smile playing over zir azure lips. "Is that-"

Peter shook it lightly so that the black ooze inside rippled softly. "Melbivian slime."

"You scare me or excite me, Peter Quill." The alien's blue stripes seemed to glow for a second. "I'm not sure which. And I am not sure which is better."

Peter grinned. "Part of my charm."

Scenica hung out near the doors at the top of the stairs. Peter watched zir extend zir pale blue claws and coat them with an epoxy. It was a thing the alien did to protect the nails, although Peter thought it was more a nervous habit now instead of actual grooming.

He glanced around the lounge again, taking note of who was here and who wasn't. Peter had a few supporters here, just like Urbic did. Most of the Ravagers here were neutral in this fight but that didn't mean they wouldn't pick sides when it started. The tables and benches were only a quarter full, so there were only twenty or other people to worry about interfering.

The doors cracked open and Peter glanced up to see Urbic coming through them. His gorilla-like shape with an extra set of arms was impossible to miss. The Terran nodded once while darting a look to Scenica to warn zir. He didn't take the time to see if zhe'd caught the signal; Urbic would be stepping through in seconds.

Peter stood and shouted, "Asshole!"

Urbic fixed large silver eyes on Peter and grinned. "Ready to challenge me, boy?"

"Don't call me 'boy'!" Peter hurled the object cupped in his hand. The crimi egg smashed in between Urbic's eyes, exploding in a shower of pearly white and a smell that sent those closest staggering back. When Scenica backed away, zhe pulled a thin cord taut across the bottom of the doorway.

Urbic roared in fury and dashed forward. His feet caught on the cord and sent him tipping forward down the stairs. Peter darted to the side, pulling out the bottle of slime. Urbic landed facedown, which wasn't the best thing, but Peter leaned low and poured it over the big alien's face.

One of the four arms swatted blindly at him and caught Peter across the gut. He staggered backwards and tripped over one of the benches in the room. Sprawling on his back, the Terrian kicked his feet over his head, rolling up to his hands and knees.

Urbic's bellow of rage changed into a shriek of pain. Peter watched as the big alien began to claw at his eyes, trying to get the black ooze out of them. A slow grin spread across his face as he realized the plan worked.

One of Urbic's buddies dove at him and Peter only had enough time to shift and brace for the impact. It caught him low in the gut and carried him to the floor. Horin reared up, hammer-hard hands ready to pound him.

Scenica pounced on the other alien, knocking him half-off Peter. The Terran saw zir slash with zir hands and Horin's blood flashed through the air. Then other Ravagers joined the fight, falling along internal allegiance lines. Peter was too busy keeping himself in one piece to worry about Scenica.

"That's! Enough!" Yondu's voice wasn't enough to stop the brawl but his sharp whistle was. Everyone knew that noise and tumbled apart, staring at the golden arrow hovering over the room. The only one still making a sound was Urbic, though his screams had become whimpers. "Who started this?"

Every finger pointed at Peter, save Peter, who pointed at Urbic. Fendru shoved past the panting combatants to kneel next to the keening alien. Peter stood up, straightening his torn clothing. He didn't look at the arrow; he'd never have the time to dodge it anyway. He just looked at his captain and kidnapper and waited.

"So he's still alive, boy?" Yondu's lips curled slightly.

"Yes, sir."

"But this is done? I ain't gonna have to deal with this shit anymore?" Yondu ended with a low warbling whistle and the Yaka arrow looped lazily in the air.

"Urbic's blind." Dru butted into the conversation, her pouty lips pressing into a thin line.

"What?" Yondu's eyes narrowed.

"It's Melbivian slime and it's in his eyes." Dru glared at Peter. "That slime corrodes mucus membranes and the soft tissues of the eyeball."

Yondu glared at Peter, his face twisting with multiple emotions. Peter waited quietly, trying to guess which way the unpredictable captain would go. Yondu pursed his lips and muttered, "He's blind."

"But alive." Peter quickly rose to his own defense.

Yondu stalked across the room and snatched him by the collar. "Boy, what am I supposed to do with a blind pirate?"

"There are cybernetics-"

Dru stood up and almost got in his face. Though smaller than him, she was wider and still a little intimidating with her coal-black skin with ripples of blue scales."Urbic's people reject all artificial prosthetics!"

"Oops." Peter had heard that but he had honestly forgotten. From the smirk on Scenica's face, zhe had not forgotten.

"God damnit boy, what am I supposed to do with a blind Ravager?" Yondu bellowed again, shaking him this time.

"Door stop?" There was a fifty/fifty chance that Peter had just signed his death warrant.

Yondu's lips twitched. Then he cracked a smile and let out a booming belly-laugh. "Damnit boy!" He let go of Peter's collar and laughed for a few more minutes before the smile faded. He resumed glaring at Peter, though this time the anger was mixed with irritation. "Now, I gotta retire him."

A chill went through the room. There was only one way you retired from the Ravagers. For his part, Peter felt a little bad but not much. Death was a really good way to make sure other Ravagers knew to leave you alone - you and those under your protection. "Understood."

"Get him out of here." Yondu waved at the blubbering alien. Several Ravagers hurried to drag him away. "And boy?" When Peter turned to him, he said, "Next time, you obey the spirit of my orders, not just the law." Peter nodded and Yondu stalked away, whistling the arrow back into his hand.

Tyrion woke that evening. Peter was sitting next to him, patching up a hole in his shirt. His little brother gasped and jerked, and the Terran set the shirt and glue aside to put a hand on his head. "Hey, easy, Ty. You're okay."

"Urbic-" Tyrion gasped before cutting off with a pained grimace.

"Is gone." Peter smoothed back the hair from his forehead. "Like, retired gone."

All his effort and planning and worry was worth the moment when the fear left his brother's eyes. "What happened?" Tyrion asked.

"That is an awesome story." Peter grinned and said, "Do you remember me talking about the Melbivian slime? Well, when you get it on someone's skin, it itches. It makes a great prank to play on someone – pour it down their back and watch them dance. But you shouldn't ingest it or get it in your eyes, and here's why."